Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Trying On Shoes

"Tiny Fingers, Tiny Toes All Line Up In Little Rows" - C C Milain





Pitter Patter feet with a flip-flop  and a scuffle in my closet made my ears perk up.
Walking around the corner to discover that all my shoes were scattered, several strung through other areas of the room resulted in a sigh from me. I feel like I go around all day doing the endless task of doing the same things all the time. Over and Over.  It is a struggle for one who enjoys order and one whose husband requires it. 

For me, the mess that those little fingers and toes do, always loudly speak to the desire to have an intentional balance of when to let things go and when to make things into a training task.

I have to reflect and remind myself it isn't about me! 
When it comes to the simple  joys of little ones curiosity and the simple joys of things that make them smile -  I need to relax even if it creates a mess.



The moment when I saw those little feet in my shoes took me back in my mind. 

 A mother one day who was in a PWOC devotional class with me over ten years ago was struggling with finding joy.  Her circumstances were marked with more than just the business of Motherhood.  She was dealing with living in a foreign land, living on gated compound where you had to learn to live with all the eyes and ears of everyone knowing all the ends and out of your daily schedule.  Her husband was deployed to war, separated from family...
the loneliness....

One day she was opened enough to be vulnerable.  
 A quick glimpse.
Our task was to ponder one thing that week.
Find joy! 
 
She studied her daughter. 
Hours of studying her daughter. 
She described her long little fingers. 
 Her black eye lashes
Her brown eyes.
  Her kinky black curls.
On and on, she went with her descriptions.

 Tears streamed down her face. 
 She had not taken the past two year to stop and ponder those
moments in which every one said just flickers bye and the realization had her spending the week in brokenness.  She described that the joyful part of her assignment was that the Lord cared enough about her to have her slow down.

I picked up the scattered shoes strung through the room.
I sat down in the closet.
The precious glimpse of those little pink toe nails in my shoes on Sunday Morning reminded me not shoo her out of the closet.
She was pointing down to her feet and saying as best as she could the word "Shoes!"

I stopped.
The Lord spoke to my heart through that memory of that lady.

I offered my little girl more shoes.
Her sister came in to also try on shoes.

I took pictures of their sweet little feet.

Baby feet in high heals! 


I want to recognize more ....
those moments of needing to stop.

3 comments:

  1. Oh what a beautiful message...Yes. Keep these pictures in your mind. Always. I have a picture in my mind of Lea as a little toddler walking down the hall of my mil's house in my heels. My mil was in a blissful mood and told me, "Remember this scene, always remember it, keep it in your mind" I always have.

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  2. Great reminder! Those are beautiful feet!

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  3. Just precious! I can't help but think there's not much cuter than baby feet in your high heels! I even have a few pictures of my boys doing that in mine when they were really little, I mean, hey, they NEVER get to wear shoes like that! :D

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